title: The importance of staphylococci and threshold value of somatic cell count for diagnosis of sub-clinical mastitis in Pirlak sheep at mid-lactation.
abstract: This study investigated the bacterial agents causing sub-clinical mastitis and the mean somatic cell counts (SCC) of milk in Pirlak sheep at mid-lactation. The percentage of infected udder halves was 11.4% (53/464). The most frequently isolated species were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) (64.2%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (24.5%) and Escherichia coli (11.3%). Among the CNS, the most common species was Staphylococcus epidermidis (38.2%). The other species isolated from milk samples were Staphylococcus xylosus (17.7%), Staphylococcus chromogenes (14.7%), Staphylococcus simulans (8.8%) and Staphylococcus hyicus (8.8%). The mean SCC for culture positive and negative samples was 1742×10(3) and 161×10(3) cells/ml, respectively. A significant difference (p<0.05) was determined between with and without microbial growth groups in terms of the SCC values. Threshold limit for SCC was 374×10(3) cells/ml for Pirlak sheep. In conclusion, it was considered that SCC is an important predictor of sub-clinical mastitis in Pirlak sheep. This is the first study to describe the bacterial agents causing sub-clinical mastitis and threshold limit for SCC in Pirlak sheep in Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Afyon Kocatepe, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. eozenc@aku.edu.tr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozenc
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seker
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baki Acar
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Birdane
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Darbaz
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dogan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology; D008413:Mastitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D008892:Milk / Q000166:cytology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification*